Masaaki Yuasa: Five Films Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		5.0
Overall		4.5

Masaaki Yuasa: Five Films Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Neil Lumbard January 23, 2024

Masaaki Yuasa Five Films Collectors Edition is a stunning box-set collection containing an assortment of feature-films by master filmmaker Masaaki Yuasa. The collection includes MIND GAME, The Night is Short, Walk On Girl, Lu Over the Wall, Ride Your Wave, and Inu-Oh. Both newcomers and Yuasa’s biggest fans will want to experience the joys of this incredible collection of films.

Masaaki Yuasa is an outstanding talent as a filmmaker and he always has something interesting to say with his films. Masaaki Yuasa is no ordinary director and he is a creative genius in the world of anime. Every film by Masaaki Yuasa feels unique and creative.

The ambitious filmmaking on display in Masaaki Yuasa’s filmography adds to the joy of experiencing his art. Each film experiments and has plenty of creativity on display – exploring themes of friendship, romance, adventure, and art itself – poetry in animation. A truly exceptional artist.

The set is a treasure trove of fantastic films by a great director. The Blu-ray releases feature excellent video and audio quality across the board. Yuasa is one of my favorite anime filmmakers and the creativity of the director is a joy to experience. A must-own box-set.

For more information on the feature-films please refer to the individual pages linked to below:

Mind Game Blu-ray

The Night is Short, Walk On Girl Blu-ray

Lu Over the Wall Blu-ray

Ride Your Wave Blu-ray

Inu-Oh Blu-ray

Masaaki Yuasa: Five Films Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The Masaaki Yuasa Five Films Collectors Edition provides each feature-film in the collection with a 1080p MPEG-4 AVC encoded high-definition presentation in the original theatrical aspect ratio. Shout Factory provides superb high-definition presentations with excellent video quality. The animation is beautiful and well reproduced. It is important that the video quality be impressive across the collection as the filmmaker is such a visual genius. The animation looks beautiful and crisp for these films and detail reproduction is outstanding. The colorful and vibrant worlds of Masaaki Yuasa are brought to life. Outstanding and magnificent animation – preserved well with the wonders of physical media.

Masaaki Yuasa: Five Films Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Each feature-film in the Masaaki Yuasa Five Films Collectors Edition box-set provides lossless audio quality presentations. Each feature-film provides both English and Japanese dubbed versions with the exception of Mind Game (which is only provided in the original Japanese language version with English subtitles). The Night is Short, Walk On Girl was previously only available on Blu-ray with the Japanese language audio only.

 The The Night is Short, Walk On Girl release included in the box-set provides both the original Japanese language audio and a new and exclusive English dubbed version that is not provided on the standalone release from Shout Factory. Audiophiles will be pleased with the lossless audio presentations across the collection – crisp, clear, and rewarding.

Masaaki Yuasa: Five Films Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

The release comes with a deluxe collector’s edition box designed by filmmaker Masaaki Yuasa. Masaaki Yuasa gave special creative input into the collection and did the new art work for the packaging design. The release comes with a nice fold-out digipack casing inside of the hard chipboard box and each film features new and stunning art-work on the discs themselves.

The set also includes a special 13x21 art poster showcasing the new artwork created for the box-set. The release also comes with a expansive booklet including 60 pages to celebrate the works of filmmaker Masaaki Yuasa and featuring excerpts taken directly from Masaaki Yuasa’s own sketchbooks. The booklet also features an essay penned by Emily Yoshida. The illustrations and art highlighted are remarkable – the incredible artistry of filmmaker Masaaki Yuasa is not lost.

One of the most significant new features EXCLUSIVE to the box-set release is a new English dub provided on The Night is Short, Walk On Girl (previous Blu-ray releases have only provided the original Japanese language version with English subtitles). Dub fans can now experience the newly produced dub for The Night is Short, Walk On Girl. (Of course, the original Japanese language version is provided with English subtitles on the release, too.)

The release also includes other legacy bonus features (available on the standalone Blu-ray discs included throughout the box-set collection) including filmmaker audio commentaries on Mind Game, Lu Over the Wall, and Inu-Oh. The other legacy supplements are included on the release as well as detailed below:

Mind Game Bonus Features:

Production Artwork Galleries –

Background Designs includes 30 pages of click-through illustrations.

Character Designs includes 36 pages of click-through illustrations.

Mechanics and Props includes 28 pages of click-through.

Film Animatic (HD, 1:43:10)

Scenes with Director’s Commentary (HD, 31:26)

Trailer (HD, 1:44)

The Night is Short, Walk On Girl Bonus Features:

Interview with Masaaki Yuasa (HD, 6:35)

Theatrical Trailers (HD, 6:37)

Lu Over the Wall Bonus Features:

Audio Commentary with Filmmakers

Interview with Director Masaaki Yuasa (HD, 28:16)

Trailers & TV Spots (HD, 4:41)

Ride Your Wave Bonus Features:

Animatics (HD, 3:48)

Gallery include 19 click-through slides.

Interview with Eunyoung Choi (HD, 8:43)

Trailers & TV Spots (HD, 4:31

Inu-Oh Bonus Features:

Interview with Masaaki Yuasa (HD, 12:02)

Q&A at US Premiere (HD, 13:48)

Yuasa Draws Inu-Oh (HD, 12:13)

Scene Breakdown (HD, 24:03)

Trailers and Teasers (HD, 5:39)

Exclusive Bonus Disc:

Section 1 –

Scene Breakdowns:

Mind Game: Scene Breakdown (HD, 23:08)

Lu Over the Wall: Scene Breakdown (HD, 11:32)

The Night is Short, Walk On Girl: Scene Breakdown (HD, 16:24)

Ride Your Wave: Scene Breakdown (HD, 20:00)

Character Drawings:

Mind Game: Character Drawing (HD, 7:43)

Lu Over the Wall: Character Drawing (HD, 6:17)

Section 2 –

Shorts:

“Happy Machine” Short Film (HD, 15:02)

“Kick-Heart” Short Film (HD, 12:44)

Interviews:

Mind Game: American Cinematheque Q&A (HD, 12:14)

A Night Out with Masaaki Yuasa (HD, 26:22) includes a discussion with Masaaki Yuasa while he attends a Los Angeles speakeasy, discussing his feature-films and answers questions about his favorite restaurants, dream vacation thoughts, his thoughts on dancing, and greatest inspirations.

Shop Talk with Masaaki Yuasa (HD, 21:33) discusses his career with questions related to his craft as a filmmaker. This is a well-produced piece and there are a lot of clips from the films throughout the filmmaker’s career. Fans hoping to gain some insights from the director about his approach will understandably appreciate the effort made to sit down with Yuasa and discuss his work more. Considering the wonderful body of work by Yuasa, this will be of interest to his fans. The master filmmaker discussing his craft. This is a wonderful inclusion for the box-set and the type of extra that rounds out the package and makes it even more compelling.

Masaaki Yuasa: Five Films Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

The Masaaki Yuasa Five Films Collectors Edition is an outstanding collection of work directed by a master filmmaker. Fans of Masaaki Yuasa will love this gorgeous Blu-ray box-set and the creative art designed by Yuasa exclusively for the Shout Factory release. The release comes jam-packed with exclusives, ranging from a 13x21 poster reproducing the artwork designed for the collectors box-set to the incredible 60 page booklet featuring art from Masaaki Yuasa's sketchbooks and an essay by Emily Yoshida.

The release also includes a selection of short films by Masaaki Yuasa alongside exclusive supplements like the "Night Out with Masaaki Yuasa" featurette (highlighting the master during a conversation over a meal and drinks) to "Shop Talk with Masaaki Yuasa" – an interview exploring the fantastic career of this visionary filmmaker. The Masaaki Yuasa Five Films Collectors Edition is an essential collection for fans of the filmmaker. Newcomers should also consider diving in. Highly recommended.